Central offers land for development

This was revealed quite dramatically during the 21st SIFF Congress workshops held in Honiara last week.Central Province has opted to follow similar moves made by Malaita Province and Western Province who are now benefitting from the FIFA Goal III Project after availing land to SIFF for development.Central Islands Football Association (CIFA) reported that they made an application to the Central Province Government through the provincial lands department and the response was immediately positive.A letter addressed to SIFF stated that the Central Province is willing to give consent for land under its custodianship to SIFF and encouraged the Federation to pursue the matter with relevant authorities, especially the Commissioner of Lands.CIFA Normalising Committee Chairman, John Bosamata, who was instrumental in making headway with the arrangement, said that he wants CIFA to have a permanent home so that football development in Central Province can be properly coordinated.“The idea behind this initiative is to help develop football in Central Province to a higher level,” Bosamata says. “My committee is fully committed to seeing this through so that our footballers can have access to good facilities for local and regional and even national competitions.”According to Bosamata CIFA has already identified a plot in Tulagi that has enough space for a football field, a Futsal court and a beach soccer pitch plus an administration office.SIFF has confirmed that talks with CIFA have started but is yet to confirm if any steps have been taken with the responsible authorities for the acquisition of the land.SIFF General Secretary, Eddie Ngava, said that SIFF commends CIFA for their hard work but a lot of related legal issues are yet to be addressed before anything further can be confirmed.“This step by CIFA is very progressive and something that SIFF looks forward to from all provinces,” Ngava said. “Only when land is owned by football can football money be used for development of facilities. The reason for this is quite apparent.”Makira Ulawa Football Association is another PFA that has taken steps to assist SIFF with the acquisition of land in Makira for the purpose of an international standard football field.

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About SIFF

Football is officially recognised as the national sport in the Solomon Islands. With numerous competitions running year-round, the Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF) has a busy time ensuring the game continues to grow and develop. SIFF was founded in 1978 and became a full FIFA member in 1988 largely thanks to the late Alan Boso who saw the potential of Solomon Islands football. Since then the association has grown from strength to strength.